News / Nigeria

Chad launches airstrikes against Boko Haram in Nigeria

Saturday, 31 January 2015 6:26 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 31 January 2015 6:26 PM ]

The photo shows Chadian soldiers in an operation against Boko Haram militants at the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, January 21, 2015. (AFP photo)

Chad has launched airstrikes against the positions of Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group in the northeastern Nigerian town of Gamboru.

On Saturday, Chadian aircraft targeted Boko Haram militants in Nigeria’s Borno State in an attempt to pave the way for the entry of Chadian soldiers to the violence-wracked area, which has been targeted by Takfiri terrorists for several months.

No information has been given on the casualties of the attack.

The airstrike came after Boko Haram militants attacked a Chadian army base in the northern Cameroonian town of Fotokol on Thursday and Friday, killing three soldiers and injuring 12 others.

The Fotokol clashes also left 123 Boko Haram terrorists dead.

Earlier in the day, the African Union (AU) announced its decision to dispatch 7,500 troops to the northeastern Nigeria in a bid to combat the rising threat of Boko Haram terrorist group.

Iran has also voiced its readiness to cooperate with the AU in the fight against Boko Haram.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, said on Saturday that the Islamic Republic, which has already shouldered heavy responsibilities in the fight against terrorist groups in the Middle East, is ready to cooperate with the AU against terrorism.

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” controls large parts of northeastern Nigeria. Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria are the four African countries which have been directly affected by the growing threat of Boko Haram.

More than 13,000 people have been killed and over a million made homeless as a result of Boko Haram violence since 2009.

FNR/HMV/SS

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